


Trouble in Paradise

by Faith280



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-10-05 09:41:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20486804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faith280/pseuds/Faith280
Summary: After years of being an unofficial couple and nearly ten years of marriage, the Grif-Simmons family are calling it quits. Their friends know Grif and Simmons are meant to be together. Can they can convince the couple before it’s too late...





	1. Chapter 1

“Mira, move your junk, I need the space to practice my new magic trick.” Jake had to once again push aside a pile of stuffed animals of Mira’s that ended up on his bed. This happened every day.

  
“Don’t push those! They’re not junk, they’re my patients.” She rushed over to carefully pick up her injured toys. “I’m playin’ Doctor.” She gave them a look over and declared that they were in fine health. “Wanna be my next patient Jakey?”

  
He saw Mira had a toy syringe in her hand. Even though it was only plastic, it still looked terrifying. He shuddered. “No way! How can you even play being a doctor?”

  
“Cause I wanna be one when I grow up, like Dr. Grey.”

  
Just the mention of the doctor’s name made Jake shudder again. Dr. Grey was nice, but she scared him. He shook his head. “You’re weird. I want to learn this magic trick.” He tried to ignore her.

  
“Oh okay, I’ll help you then.” She hopped up on his bed and his magic book flopped to the floor.

  
“Mira, quit it. I don’t want your help. I want to be left alone.” He glared at her as he searched for the page he was reading.

  
Mira’s feelings were hurt. “C’mon Jakey, we always do everything together. I wanna play with you.”

  
Jake felt bad, but he had to take a stand. “Not anymore we don’t. You want to be a doctor and I want to be a magician. We can play by ourselves.” He flinched as he said it.

  
Mira snatched the book from his hand. “No, we can still play together.”

  
Jake reached for his book. “Give it back, it’s mine!”

  
Mira was stubborn and hung on. “No!”

  
The book slipped out her hand and flew to hit the maroon colored LEGO car that Jake spent so long to build. The color reminded him of his Dad’s armor color, it was his favorite toy. He watched in horror as it shattered into a hundred little LEGO blocks.

  
“Dad! Come see what Mira did!” He was half in tears.

  
Simmons came running in, wearing his red apron and his hands all covered with flour. “Jacob, Mira, what is going on in here?”

This wasn’t the first time this week he had to come and break up an argument between the twins. They had always been so close.

  
Jake pointed at Mira. “She started it.” At the same time Mira cried. “It’s all his fault.”

  
Simmons groaned, this was how their twenty other arguments started out. “Well, I’m busy trying to make a homemade lasagna for tonight. Grandma Simmons is bringing Sarge by you guys can meet our old Colonel. Won’t that be fun?”

  
“No.” Grif’s flat monotone voice showed no love lost for the Sarge that made his military career a living hell.

  
Simmons turned to give him a strict glare. “Shut up, I wasn’t talking to you. I’m trying to cheer the twins out of their argument.”

  
“Judging by the frowns on their faces, you’re doing a really great job. Alright you two, what was it about this time?”

  
“Jake won’t even play doctor with me. All he cares about is his dumb book. He’s no fun no more.”

  
Simmons rolled his eyes. “That’s ‘Anymore’ Mira.”

  
“Mira’s too messy. I don’t have any room for my stuff. And my car that Grandma Simmons got me is ruined.” He held it up for Simmons to see. Tears filled in his eyes.

  
Simmons felt bad for the little boy. “Don’t worry, after dinner, I’ll help you rebuild it. It’ll be just the two us. Will that help?”

  
Jake shrugged, but gave a small smile. He loved spending time with his favorite Dad. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  
Grif looked approvingly at his husband. “Now you’re doing better there loser. As for you Mira, I’ll volunteer to be your patient since Jake wants to read his book.”

  
Mira held up her stethoscope. “Can I do a pretend surgery on you?”

  
Grif shrugged. “Give me a doctor’s note that gets me out of work in the morning, and I’ll let you do anything you want.”

  
She gave a big smile. “It’s a deal.” Ever since the day she was born, she was Grif’s little girl.

  
Simmons was satisfied that the kids were okay, he turned to leave. Grif caught his arm. “What do you want, I need to get that lasagna in the oven.” He wanted to be agitated, but Grif looked so serious.

  
“You know, they’re getting old enough to have their own rooms.”

  
Simmons hesitated, getting separate rooms meant the twins were growing up. He wanted them to stay little kids for as long as they could. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

  
“Why not? I can sympathize with them, they are just like us, complete opposites. They should be separated. Hell, I wouldn’t mind it.”

  
He sounded so amused by this, but it kind of hurt Simmons’ feelings. All the annoying quirks of Grif’s that drove him crazy were the same traits that attracted Simmons to him. He thought Grif felt the same way…maybe he had been wrong all these years. Maybe Grif wasn’t attracted to him anymore.

  
He fought back the tears that welled in his eyes. “Sure, I guess we could redecorate the guest bedroom before school starts. The twins can start out kindergarten in separate bedrooms.”

  
“Yeah, it’s for the best. Hey, maybe we should opt for separate rooms. I won’t have to put up with you being over super organized, and you won’t have to bitch at me about living in a pig sty.” He chuckled over the idea as he went to play with Mira.

  
Simmons felt numb as he chopped up the vegetables for his dinner salad. Sure he and Grif had their difficulties in the past. They were unofficially a couple for years. They had been married over eight years, and after raising three young kids together, Simmons and Grif were meant to be together…weren’t they? Some days, Simmons couldn’t tell for sure.

  
He was so lost in his thoughts, when he felt a small tug on his sleeve, he almost dropped the head of lettuce. He looked down to see Jake looking up at him.

  
“Hi Daddy, can I help you dinner?”

  
Simmons smiled, he always appreciated extra help. “Sure you can Jakey.” He handed him the lettuce. “Tear that in the bowl for me. I’ll go check the lasagna.”

  
The sauce wasn’t bubbling over, so Simmons was happy. Jake looked like something was bothering him. Simmons gently tried to get him to talk.

  
“Are you okay with the idea of separate rooms for you and Mira?”

  
He nodded. “Yeah, there’s not enough room. This way we can play together again without fighting.” He still looked sad.

  
“What’s bothering you then?”

  
Jake could hardly get it out. “If Mira and I are separating, does that mean you and Daddy are too?”

  
Simmons was surprised, he was worried over that too. “Of course not, why would you think that?”

  
“Cause Daddy said you and him are opposites like me and Mira, and that he wanted his own room too.”

  
“He was joking around.” I hope. “Being opposites are what have kept us together this long. Just like you and Mira will always be close, so will we.”

  
Jake looked relieved. “Oh okay. Is the lettuce alright Daddy?” He carefully tore the leaves as perfectly as he could. He really was Simmons’ little clone.

  
“That looks great Jakey. You can set the bowl on the table. Now we just wait on the lasagna and our guests.”

  
He hated lying to his son, but he was only five years old, he deserved to have a happy home. After all, Grif was only joking around.

  
He still loved Simmons…didn’t he?  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

“Hey Grif, don’t forget to wear your tie.” Simmons had to holler so Grif could hear him through the closed bathroom door.

  
Grif stepped out dressed in jean shorts and an orange t-shirt. He looked confused. “Why the hell would I wear a stupid tie?”

  
“When you get dressed for dinner tonight, you can look dignified for a change.”   
Simmons was fussing with straightening up his black tie while double checking that his burgundy dress shirt was tucked perfectly into his khaki trousers. He frowned at Grif’s outfit.   
“Well, at least try to dress better than that outfit.” He made a face before giving his tie one last check. He looked perfect as always.

  
Grif frowned back. “I am already dressed for dinner. What’s so wrong with it?”

  
At first, Simmons thought he was joking. Then he realized Grif was serious. “Oh come on, you look like a bum in that. At least brush your hair, it’s a tangled mess.”

  
“I did brush it already, this damned humidity kills it. I wanna be comfortable in my own home. Who cares, your Mom and Sarge know what I look like.”

  
Simmons looked sadly at him for a second. “Don’t you care about dressing up for me?”

  
Grif didn’t get the hint. “Huh, why would I?”

  
There was a knock at the door. Meredith Simmons called out before inviting herself in. “Hello Dickie, Griffie, we’re coming in.”

  
Simmons sighed and turned away from Grif. “Forget it, wear what you want.” He called out to his Mom. “We’re coming Mom.”

  
Grif looked even more confused, he couldn’t figure it out. What the hell were they fighting about? He walked out to join the party, not that he really wanted to. He cringed after hearing Sarge’s booming voice from the living room.

“Well lookie here, who’s this sharp dressed young lad?” Sarge took an immediate liking to Jake. He reminded him of a certain maroon solider who was like a son to him way back in the Blood Gulch years.

  
“My name is Jacob, sir.” Jake was dressed exactly like Simmons. He stood tall and proud, he was honored to be in the presence of such a decorated war hero as Sarge was known in Chorus. Retirement from the army didn’t slow him down. He was still very interactive with the training of the new troops.

  
His sanity was shattered briefly years ago with the announcement that two of his Red Team soldiers had run off and eloped. Simmons was always okay in Sarge’s book. Grif, on the other hand, was only good for target practice. He never knew what Simmons saw in Grif.  
He warmed up some by the time the kids were born, though he never came around to visit. He was too busy trying to create new enemies to shoot, even when there were none left to shoot.

  
President Kimball finally had enough and forced him into retirement. She turned it into a big glorious ceremony so Sarge thought it was discharge with honors instead of discharge for being senile.

  
With all his spare time, he ran across Meredith Simmons by chance at the library, and the two had been together since. Sarge was her first serious boyfriend after her disasterous marriage to Simmons’ abusive Dad. They were happy together, that was all that mattered.

  
Mira came over to meet Sarge next. She shocked her family by showing up in a coral pink summer dress. She tried, but she couldn’t do anything to control her wild, ginger curls. Her hair was just as bad as Grif’s in the summer.

  
She walked right over to him with a big smile on her face, she already knew she liked him. “Hi there Uncle Sarge.”

  
“Why look at this cute little whippersnapper! Everyone here is so dressed up…” He looked at Grif’s frumpy attire, Dex was pretty much dressed the same way. Neither one was impressed by Sarge’s visit. “Well almost everyone.”

  
Simmons was embarrassed by them, he tried to change the subject. “That lasagna is just about ready. We can go ahead to the living room and get started.” He prayed the night would go fast.

  
Sarge told the kids all kinds of his war stories during his time with the Reds and Blues, those real and imaginary. Jake especially listened to every word with a look of awe on his face. Simmons was proud that his son could share in Sarge’s wisdom. He also felt a twinge of jealousy that Jake was the center of Sarge’s attention and not him. He quickly squashed the thought from his mind.

  
Simmons watched how gentlemanly Sarge acted towards his Mom. He helped Meredith with her chair then turned and helped Mira with hers. Her cheeks burned bright pink. She liked all this attention.

  
“What, I don’t get help with my chair?” Grif gave Sarge a teasing grin.

  
“Sure Grif, I’ll help you into that chair alright. With the barrel of my shotgun.”

  
Grif had to smile, it was the same old Sarge. Simmons was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief as he served dinner. Maybe they could all be one big, happy family.

Later that evening, Simmons found himself facing a sink full of dirty dishes. He noticed a Grif sprawled out on his recliner, lazily flipping through the TV channels. “Hey Grif, since you’re not busy, how about giving me a hand with these dishes? After all that cooking I’ve done, I’m tired.”

  
Grif made a face behind Simmons’ back. He needed to weasel out of this chore. “Well I would help, but I never clean them properly enough for you. Then you’ll yell at me, and rewash every dish yourself. Do you really want that much extra work?”

  
Simmons thought about it, he did have a point, that’s exactly what Simmons would do. “How about taking out the trash then? Even you can’t screw that up.”

  
“Umm, yeah as soon as I catch this sports score.”

  
Simmons’ face burned with anger. Since when did Grif care about baseball? He certainly knew how lazy Grif was before he married him, but enough was enough. Jake came out to the kitchen, his hands full of his broken LEGO car.

  
“Daddy, you said you would help me rebuild this after dinner. Is it enough after dinner yet? I really want to play with my car.”

  
Simmons looked at the overwhelming pile of dishes and the overflowing wastebasket. He was already having a panic attack, now he had to disappoint a five year old. He was going to scream. “Grif, I don’t care how badly you finish the chores, just help me out this once.”

  
Grif reluctantly got off his chair. He checked out the options in front of him and opted for the easiest chore. He took Jake’s hand. “C’mon buddy, I’ll fix your car for you while your Dad gets his precious kitchen cleaned up.”

  
Jake looked happy, he and Grif hardly ever spent enough time together. Mira took up a lot of a Grif’s attention. “Cool, will you play cars with me when we’re done?”

  
“You betcha.”

  
Simmons was fuming. Grif worms his way out of doing work, now he gets playtime with the kids. Simmons wished he had enough time in the day to spend quality time with all three of them. Now he had an entire kitchen to clean. By the time he was done, it was the kids’ bedtime.

  
Marriage was supposed to be a partnership, it was supposed to be give and take. So far, all Grif did was take. If he didn’t learn to start giving once in a while, Simmons didn’t know what he would do. He had nothing left to give…


	3. Chapter 3

Grif casually strolled into his bedroom after spending the evening playing with Jake. It felt good to have spend some quality time with his youngest son. Ever since he was a little baby, Jake always preferred Simmons over him.

  
Grif saw Simmons getting ready for bed. “Man, that was fun hanging out with Jake like that. I was afraid he didn’t like me, he’s always hanging around you. He’s a pretty smart little kid.”

  
Simmons responded by slamming the dresser drawer shut as he glared at him. “So glad you got to have fun tonight.”

  
Grif cringed, here we go again. He had to figure out what Simmons was mad at now. “Okay, here we go. How about you just tell me what it is you’re pissed about, so I don’t have to guess what it is I’ve done wrong?”

  
Simmons looked at him, he couldn’t believe that Grif couldn’t guess why he was upset. They’ve been married long enough, Grif should know these things. “Nothing…” His voice was as hostile as he could make it.

  
“Oh my god, you’re upset with me cause I didn’t take out a stupid garbage bag? Get real loser.”

  
He gave Simmons a teasing grin and tried to pull him closer. Usually Grif could tease him out of his bad moods. Not this time.

  
Simmons pulled away from him. He had the urge to honestly hit Grif, he had to step away. “No, it’s not just because of the garbage. It’s because of everything.”

  
Grif sighed, this wasn’t the first time that Simmons had a breakdown on him, but the look on his face… this was a new pain. “Then tell me what I did wrong.”

  
“It’s hard to specify what you do wrong, because you don’t do anything.”

  
Simmons had to play the laziness card. “Hey, you knew this about me long before we were ever together. It’s not easy for me to change, you know that. Anyway, I’m a good father to our kids, that’s one chore I’ll never back out on.”

  
“I know, you’re great with the kids…but you’re terrible as a husband.” His voice quivered as he said it.

  
Grif could hardly catch his breath, he’d rather have Simmons slug him. He loved his husband more than anything in the world… he always had. “What? Don’t you know how much I love you?”

  
“I know you do, but there’s more to marriage than that. This is a partnership, and I’m stuck with all the work. I don’t get much quality time with the kids. When I do, I’m too tired and grumpy with them, that’s why they want to spend time with you. This is isn’t the first time this topic has come up, and I don’t know, but it might be the last time.” His eyes filled with tears as he said it.

  
Grif felt his heart stop beating. “So you’re saying you want a divorce?”

  
Simmons couldn’t look at him, he kept his eyes focused on the beige carpet. “I think it’s for the best. We can’t keep going on like this. We’ll be happier separated than be miserable together.”

  
The tears ran down Grif’s cheeks. He would be miserable without Simmons. “What about the kids?”

  
“They’ll get used to it in time. We can have joint custody, they can still have both of us.”

  
Grif’s tears turned to anger. “That’s bullshit and you know it. I’ll get to see them every other week, if I’m lucky, and you’ll get them every damn day. You knew how I was before we got married, you accepted it about me. Like I had to accept all your faults.”

  
Now Simmons was mad. “What faults do I have?” In his mind, he was perfect.

  
“Oh, you’re only controlling, bossy, manipulative, a neat freak and two-faced. Shall I go on? The worst is that you’re turning your own youngest son into a clone of you. He’s already a whiny little crybaby.”

  
A small gasp behind him made Grif stop. He turned to see Jake standing in the doorway with a look of shock on his face. His big green eyes filled with tears. He stammered. “I kknew yyyou hated me.”

  
Grif’s heart froze. “No Jakey… I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean that.”

  
Jake turned and ran from the room. He had only wanted to say goodnight to his Dads, now his heart was broken.

  
Simmons glared hatefully at Grif. Well, I hope you’re proud of yourself. For this one, you may lose full custody of the kids. They’re more my kids than they are yours.”

  
“Hey, I was mad at you, not him. I’m gonna go apologize to him.”

  
“He won’t talk to you now, I’ll go calm him down.” He went to leave the room, but he looked back once. “You know, years ago you took off on me once before and declared you wanted a divorce, why don’t you do us a favor and leave again.”

He turned to go to the twins’ room.  
Rarely did Simmons ever speak that harshly. Grif sat on the edge of the bed and cried. He needed a miracle to weasel his way out of this problem.

Grif settled himself on the couch for the night. In the morning, he would look for a cheap motel to stay at. He heard Jake crying from his bedroom and Simmons trying to comfort him. He heard Mira crying along with Jake.

  
That sound really broke his heart. From the moment she was born, she was Grif’s little girl. The two were so much alike. They were two slackers in a house full of overachievers. They kept each other sane.

  
He was going to miss her so much. He wished he could take her with him, but he couldn’t separate her from her twin brother. Those two still needed each other.

  
He sensed movement behind him. Mira came up to stand beside the couch. Tears streamed down her face, she looked serious. “Why’d you hurt Jake’s feelings like that?”

  
“I didn’t mean to. I was mad at your Dad, I didn’t realize what I said and he heard it.” He motioned to her to sit with him. She laid her head on his shoulder and cried again.

  
“Daddy, don’t leave me. I love you, I want you to stay.”

  
“I don’t wanna leave, it’s your Dad’s idea.” He thought for a second. “I don’t blame him, I don’t deserve to have you guys.”

  
“You’ll always be the best Daddy in the world to me.”

  
“Thanks honey, I needed to hear it.” He held her close until she finally fell asleep.   
For the first time ever, Grif was still wide awake. He heard Simmons going off to bed, Jake must be feeling better. He carefully lifted Mira and carried her back to her bed. Jake was almost asleep, but was still sniffling. Grif sat on the edge of his bed.

  
“I’m sorry about what I said tonight. Your Dad and I had an argument. I was insulting him, I never meant to hurt you. I love you so much, I’d never hurt you intentionally like that.”

  
Jake’s tears finally stopped. “Yeah, I know that. I love you too Daddy.” Grif gave him a big hug and tucked him back into bed.

  
Since he wasn’t tired, he slipped quietly in to see Simmons. The lamp was still on, but Simmons was asleep. He had a book in his hands and his glasses were falling off his nose. Carefully, Grif set his book on the nightstand and slipped off his glasses.

  
Before turning off the light, something shiny caught Grif’s attention. The gold Claddagh ring he wore for a wedding ring was sitting on the stand. Grif threw it at him the day he proposed. Simmons never took it off…until now. His heart dropped. It was official.

  
Grif forced off his own wedding ring and placed it beside his now ex-husband’s ring. He gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before leaving.

  
It was for the best, Simmons deserved a much better husband than Grif turned out to be.


	4. Chapter 4

Simmons woke with a start. The dried tear stains on his face made him remember the fight. He could have sworn Grif had been in the room. He switched back on the lamp, but he was nowhere in sight. He instinctively reached for his glasses, there were gone, so was his book.

  
He looked at the nightstand and saw them set up carefully. He didn’t remember doing that. Then he noticed Grif’s wedding ring set beside his. His heart grew cold. He saw some piles of Grif’s crumpled clothes were missing.

  
He checked out in the living room. A blanket and pillow were still in the couch, but there was no Grif. He checked Grif’s sacred snack drawer, it was completely empty. A trial of Twinkie wrappers and Oreo crumbs led to the back door.

  
“Oh shit, what did I do?” He didn’t actually think Grif would leave. He slumped on kitchen chair and cried some more. “Why did I say all those things to him? Damnit, I blew it this time.” He covered his face with his hands.

  
He felt movement beside him. He lifted his head to see Jake looking at him. He looked as miserable as Simmons felt. “I think Daddy left, I heard him out here. Where did he go?”

  
Simmons had to choke back his tears for his son’s sake. “I don’t know honey. He probably just went out to blow off some steam. Maybe he’ll be back in the morning.” He didn’t sound hopeful.

  
Jake dropped his head to look at the floor. “Is it my fault Daddy? I know you were fighting about me.” His voice sounded so small and scared.

  
Simmons felt his heart break, it was HIS fault Grif left, not Jake’s. He put his arms around his young son and pulled him close. “Don’t even say that, the fight wasn’t about you. It was the same problems we’ve had for years, and I can’t deal with it anymore. It’s my fault, not yours. Daddy and I both still love you, no matter what happens.”

  
He held him close until his tears slowed down. “Let’s get you back to bed. Mira will wonder where you are.”

  
Jake still hesitated, Simmons understood. “Trust me, it will be better in the morning. This isn’t the first time your Dad has done something this stupid and it won’t be the last. He can’t stay away from us. He’ll come home when he’s done pouting.”

  
Jake allowed himself to be tucked back in his bed. He grabbed Simmons’ hand. “No Daddy, don’t go yet.” He held on tight, his sad eyes were pleading. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

  
Again Simmons’ heart lurched. “You don’t have to worry honey. I will never, ever leave you guys.”

  
Jake looked better, he even gave a sad smile. Simmons stroked his dark brown hair until he passed out from exhaustion. He felt so bad for his little boy.

Simmons hated to leave him. He didn’t want to be all alone in his bedroom. The pain from losing Grif was still too much for him. He fell asleep cuddled next to his son.

Simmons awoke a few hours later when Mira jumped up on the bed beside him and Jake. She grabbed his pajama sleeve and shook it until he was fully awake.

  
“Daddy what’s wrong? Why were you and Jakey crying last night?”

  
Simmons didn’t want to tell her, she and Grif were so close, but he needed to be honest with her. “Mira, your Dad left us last night.”

  
Her green eyes got big. “No he didn’t! He didn’t take me, he would never leave me behind. He said last night he didn’t wanna go. I want my Daddy!”

  
He put his arms around her. “It’s okay Mira, you’ll see him again. He doesn’t want to leave you kids, he’s leaving me.”

  
Dex stood in the doorway, he looked accusingly at Simmons. “So he ticked you off and you made him leave. You chased him off again.”

  
Simmons sighed, this wouldn’t be easy, Dex was too much like Grif. “No Dex, we’ve been having problems, well…forever. I think it’s better to be happily separated than to be unhappily married.”

  
Dex looked disgusted with him. “Yeah whatever. I’m going back to bed so you can finish ruining our lives.”

  
Simmons was so frustrated. The only kid not hating him right now was Jake. Didn’t anyone realize how bad his married life was, the problems he had to put up with? No, no one cared, he was used to that by now. This separation wasn’t going as smoothly as he planned on.

  
He looked at the twins. “Well, we better officially get up for the day. There’s no point in moving around here. Come on and get dressed and I’ll make us some breakfast.” He tried to sound more positive than he felt.

  
In the sanctuary of his bedroom, he checked his phone for any voice messages from Grif he may have missed. There was nothing…where the hell could he be? He could have at least left a note. He slammed the closet door shut. He didn’t know whether to be worried or angry, so he would be both.

  
“To hell with him. He’s old enough to know better. I’m going on with my life, without him.”

  
At least in the kitchen, he had the satisfaction of slamming around the pots and pans. There was a knock at the door. His heart skipped a beat as he answered the door. Could it be Grif?

  
“Grif…oh hi Wash.” He couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice.

  
Wash was taken aback for a second, he recovered quickly. “Uh, hi Simmons.” He knew by the look on his face that something was wrong. He had to wait for the right time to ask.

  
“Come on in Wash.” He held the door open for his friend.

  
“Could you spare some eggs? Tucker tried to surprise me with breakfast in bed, but it didn’t go too well. He burned every egg we had in the house.”

  
Tears sprang in Simmons’ eyes. Once Grif brought him breakfast in bed. It was for their first Valentines Day together. He was a surprisingly good cook, Simmons would never have guessed. Grif never did it again, he claimed it was too much work. He was lost in the memory, he had to shake his head. Damnit, stop thinking about Grif.

  
“Oh yeah, I went shopping yesterday, we have plenty. Grif likes to make egg omelettes for quick suppers.” Shit, don’t talk about him either. “Help yourself Wash.”

  
Wash put some eggs in a bowl, then stopped to look Simmons straight in the face. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong? Maybe I can help. Where is Grif?” He spoke gently, he kind of knew the answer already.

  
Simmons’ tears broke again. “ I don’t know where he is. We had a big fight last night. We both said things we didn’t mean and he took off. This time, I think it’s for good.” He felt better being to confide in Wash.

  
“Oh god, I’m so sorry. How are the kids holding up?”

  
“Terrible. Dex and Mira are blaming me and Jake is blaming himself.”

  
“How are you doing? If you want me to, I can look after the kids for you if you want to be alone.”

  
He shook his head. “No thanks, I need to be near them, even if they hate me. I just wish I knew where Grif went, I’ll worry until I know he’s safe.”

  
“He can’t stay away from you and the kids, he never has. He’ll be back to driving you crazy before you know it.” Wash tried to sound positive. He hated seeing all that pain in Simmons’ eyes.

  
Simmons didn’t look positive. “Oh god, I hope you’re right.”

  
Why oh why did Simmons feel like he lost his Grif forever…  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

As Wash was taking the short cut through the Grif-Simmons’ back yard, he saw a familiar looking figure slowly  
walking up on the porch.

  
“Grif?”

  
Grif turned his head. He looked so embarrassed to be seen back at home. “Oh, hey Wash. I was afraid it was Simmons for a second.”

  
Wash frowned. “Why were you afraid of your husband catching you coming home? That should be a good thing.”

  
Grif hesitated in answering. “Weell… it’s not really a good thing. I only came to get the rest of my stuff and say goodbye to the kids.”

  
Now Wash really looked concerned. Grif and Simmons have been bickering forever, at least for as long as Wash had known them. They also made up faster than any couple he’d ever seen. These two were truly meant to be together, whether they realized it or not. They were going to need some help.

  
“So it’s really official, you two are calling it quits?” Wash still didn’t believe it would happen.

  
Grif shrugged as he stared down at the concrete. “Yeah, I guess so, but it’s not my idea. That’s the way Simmons wants it, he told me last night to leave, that everyone was better off if I left…so I did.”

  
“Don’t you know him well enough to know he doesn’t mean it? Don’t you know how much your kids are missing you?”

  
He squirmed, he knew it was true. He and Simmons had been through so much together. Of course he still needed Grif. “Thanks Wash, I can’t wait to see those guys.”

  
Wash was able to go home feeling better. He helped get two of his best friends back together.

  
Grif cautiously peeked through the door. “Knock knock, anyone home?”

  
The twins were at the kitchen table, half heartedly eating their cereal. Mira looked up and squealed. “Daddy, I missed you so much!” She ran to throw her arms around him. Her reaction helped heal his wounded heart. At least she still needed him.

  
“Hi sweetie, I missed you too.” He looked over towards Jake, he was afraid he was still mad at him.

  
Jake was looking at Simmons, who stood stiffly by the refrigerator. He needed his Dad’s approval. Simmons patted him assuredly on the arm and nodded. He would never keep the kids away from their father.

  
Jake looked relieved and went to Grif. “I was scared you left because I started the fight with you and Daddy.”

  
“No way buddy, nothing that happened was your fault. This was due to happen eventually.” He kept his eyes on his husband. Wash said he missed him. Grif didn’t sense it at all.

  
Mira finally let go of Grif. “Are you coming back to stay?”

  
He kept looking at Simmons. “Afraid not. I came back to get the rest of my stuff.” His brown eyes pleaded with Simmons. Simmons turned away and left the kitchen. Grif’s heart sank. “Were’s Dex at?”

  
Mira rolled her eyes. “In his room pouting. We’re all really mad at Daddy for kicking you out.”

  
Grif’s old depression rolled over him. “No, don’t blame your Dad. He had every reason to break up with me, he deserves better. You kids deserve better.”

  
“No way, you’re the best Daddy! He’s just being mean.” Mira made a face. She and Simmons still never saw eye to eye. “I wanna stay with you.”

  
“I’d love to take you and your brothers with me, but I can’t. As soon as I get situated in an apartment, you guys can come see me all the time. Right now, you need to take care of your Dad for me.”

  
He reluctantly turned away and headed for the bedroom. Simmons was already packing a suitcase for him. Grif swallowed back his tears, he wouldn’t let him know.

  
Simmons shoved the suitcase at him. “There’s some of your junk. The rest I’ll have sent out to you when I can unearth it from that pigsty you call your side of the room.”

  
Grif stood there and looked at it. “So, This is it huh?”

  
“You made your choice loud and clear when you took off.”

  
“You told me to leave, you said you didn’t want me.”

  
“I said I needed your help, I never said I didn’t want you.” Simmons was close to tears.

  
Grif sighed, he didn’t want to leave, but he knew Simmons had been right. They were bound to split up sooner or later. He knew it had been too good to be true.

  
“What’s the point anyway, you always treated me like a second rate housemate. Nothing I ever did was good enough for you. That’s why I stopped trying. This separation is really for the best.”

  
He picked up the suitcase. Inside, he felt like his mind was screaming at him to stop, but his heart was too broken to stay. He turned to leave the room.

  
“Grif, wait.”

  
He turned, half excited. Maybe Simmons changed his mind and this painful shit could end. “Yeah?”

  
He held up Grif’s wedding ring. “Do you want to take this?”

  
Grif’s heart sunk. “No way. Go ahead and pitch it, I’m done.”

  
Simmons heard Grif going to Dex’s room to say goodbye. He locked himself away in the bathroom. He didn’t want Grif or the kids to hear him cry.

Grif knocked on Dex’s open door. Dex looked up in shock. “Hey buddy, I just stopped in to say goodbye.”

  
He looked wide eyed. “So you and Dad are really getting a divorce?”

  
Grif slowly nodded. “I’m afraid so. Don’t worry, I’m gonna find a permanent apartment nearby. As soon as I get settled in, you kids can come bug me as much as you want.”

  
Dex had tears in eyes. “Then I’ll always be bugging you, cause I don’t want you to go.”

  
Grif gave him a big hug. “Thank goodness, I wouldn’t want it any other way. You can help me when I move in, Okay?”

  
Dex nodded as he let go. “Yep, it’s a deal.”

  
Grif could hardly find the strength to make it through the door.

He was almost to his car, when Tucker’s big mouth stopped him. “Yo Grif, wait up.” He sprinted to catch up with him.

  
Grif cringed, he was so close to escaping. He stood and waited for Tucker to catch up. “What the hell do you want? I’m not in any kind of a good mood here, so tread carefully.”

  
“I just heard the news from Wash. Are you two actually getting a divorce?” He sounded so shocked.

  
Grif groaned, with every single mention, he died a little more inside. “Yes Tucker, it’s over for us. I’m sure the 6:00 news will cover the news flash properly for you. Right now, I gotta split.”

  
“But wait, you’re actually leaving? Aren’t you gonna try to get Simmons back?” Tucker was getting a little too excited.

  
Grif groaned again. “No, I’m not. He’s made it quite clear that he doesn’t want me, so I’m gone. Anyway, I’m so not in the mood for any of your schemes.”

  
Tucker scoffed. “What kind of schemes?”

  
“Before we started dating you plotted to get my sister out of the way so I could date Simmons. When he broke up with me before we were engaged, you and Donut tricked him to take me back. You bugged us into getting back together when we tried to get a divorce years ago…”

  
“Alright alright, I get it man. Trust me, I wanna help you guys. You belong together, think of how the kids will feel.”

  
“Wash wouldn’t like you butting in like this.”

  
“Hey, Wash isn’t the boss of me.” He lowered his voice. “Why don’t you hang out for a while and we’ll shoot some pool in my basement rec room and Wash doesn’t need to know about any of this.” He gave Grif his most convincing smile.

  
Grif didn’t want to, but he really wanted his husband back. “Okay, I need my head examined for this, but let’s go.”

  
He was willing to do whatever it took to win Simmons back, even if it meant following bad advice…   
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Grif and Tucker we’re safely hidden away in Tucker’s basement. He proudly showed off the small pool table he had. “Isn’t it a beaut? Wash got it for me for my birthday. I used to play all the time when I was a kid.”

  
Grif rolled his eyes before rudely interrupting. “Tucker, I don’t care. How do you plan on helping me with my divorce?”

  
“Oh yeah. Well, if Simmons is positive that he wants a divorce, just give him one.”

  
Grif frowned. “How the hell is that gonna help me? I don’t want a divorce.”

  
Tucker sighed, he couldn’t believe how stupid Grif was. “You know Simmons would never sign any divorce papers. He’s only waiting for you to apologize first, this way you can call his bluff and you won’t be the first one to give in. Argument solved, you two go back to your pathetic lives together.”

  
Grif just looked at him, it sounded so ridiculous, it might just work. “You really think he’ll fall for this?”

  
Tucker scoffed. “Simmons has sucker written all over him. How else do you think you’ve gotten out of work duties for years. Yeah, I’m positive it will work.”

  
Grif shrugged. “Alright, it sounds better than any other idea I had. I’ll run down to Kimball’s office and see if she has any  
divorce papers lying around.” He turned to go up the basement before turning back to Tucker. “Thanks, it’s really decent of you to help me with my problems.”

  
“Hey, no problem dude. I don’t like to admit it often, but we’re buds.”

  
Grif passed Wash as he was leaving. “Hi, bye. Don’t have time to chat, I need to pick up some divorce papers so I can save my marriage. See ya.”

  
Wash stood shaking his head. He has questioned the Reds and Blues’ sanity the entire time he was stuck with this bunch, but this time, even he couldn’t figure them out. He had a feeling Tucker was responsible. As on cue, he walked into the kitchen.

  
“Hey Wash, what’s up?” He was acting too casual. Wash didn’t trust him.

  
“What were you and Grif talking about downstairs?”

  
“Nothing much. I was showing him my new pool table. He didn’t want to play any though.” He reached into the refrigerator to grab a soda. “Why?”

  
“He passed me going out the door. He said he could fix his marriage by getting a divorce. Do you know anything about this?” Wash narrowed his eyes.

  
Tucker squirmed under his glare. He could never get away with lying. He was so bad at it, Wash always busted him.

“Uh no, I have no idea.” Wash frown deepened. “Oh okay, I know you don’t like me butting into people’s troubles, but this time  
I had to.”

  
Wash knew that was the truth, only Tucker could up with that idea. “Yeah, there’s a reason I don’t like you butting in, it doesn’t work.”

  
“Normally yes, but this is different. These two morons need help or they’re gonna screw up a perfectly good marriage. They’re our best friends. How could I keep out of it?”

  
“Yeah… I feel the same way. But be careful Tucker, you know how stubborn those two are. Just let them work this out for themselves. They always had.”

  
Tucker gave him an incredible smile and tried to pull him closer. “Yes sir, babe.”

  
Their three year old son, David came barging through the door, dragging his new blue kite behind him. He shoved it at Tucker. “Daddy, can you help me, I think it broked on me. I can’t get it to fly.” His face was set in a serious pout.

  
Tucker couldn’t help laughing. “Sure little dude. I’ll fix it for you.”

  
Now that he was free from distractions, Wash could only wait and worry that Grif and Simmons would come to the right decision on their own.

Grif was banging away at Kimball’s office door. She glared lightly at him as she opened it. “Grif, what do you want? I have an important meeting in ten minutes.”

  
“Don’t worry, this will only take a minute. Do you happen to have any divorce papers lying around. Simmons and I need a copy.”

  
“Why the hell do you willingly need those? Are you two having problems?”

  
Grif scoffed. “Hell Yeah, we’re always having problems. This time it’s for real.”

  
She still looked confused. “Have you two tried talking out your problems like two rational people?”

  
Grif shook his head. “Whenever I talk, he never listens. All he does is yell at me. The divorce was his idea. I figured if I took him the papers to sign, he would chicken out and we could make up like we always do.” His warm brown eyes pleaded with Kimball.

  
She knew how much the two cared about each other. Grif really wouldn’t be asking her if it wasn’t important. She sighed and gave up.

  
“Well, I don’t keep many forms around in my office, a divorce is usually handled by the courts. I think I can scrounge something up for you.” She went into the storage room to check.

  
She ran into Carolina, who occasionally volunteered training Kimball’s security guards for her. “Hi Vanessa, need help finding something?”

  
“No thanks, I think I know where they are.” She reached up high on a shelf and pulled down some dusty papers. “Grif said he and Simmons were interested in divorce papers.”

  
Carolina stopped and stared. “You’ve got to be kidding. What are those idiots getting into this time?”

  
Kimball sighed dramatically. “He seems to think that Simmons will chicken out and they can make up this way.”

  
“That’s ridiculous, are you really going to give him those?”

  
Kimball shrugged. “Grif seems to have a plan. May as well see where he goes with it.”

  
Carolina shook her head. “I’m surrounded by the biggest morons on this planet.”

  
Simmons kept himself busy by rearranging the kitchen. He had just finished alphabetizing the spice rack, when he heard a knock at the door. He looked through the glass, all he saw was dark curly hair. His heart skipped a beat, maybe Grif was coming to apologize.

  
“Grif…” he stopped short when he saw it was Grif’s sister instead. At a distance, they looked very similar. “Oh, hey Kai.” He almost choked on his words. After all these years, he still had trouble talking to his sister-in-law.

  
She flashed him a big smile. Her lips were painted bright pink. Her yellow crop top and denim shorts were way too short. Simmons almost had to look away.

“Hello there sexy. Is my big bro around? I need his advice for my nightclub.”

  
Grif had never gone out clubbing, even when he was young. What advice could he give her? “Sorry Kai, he hasn’t been around. I’m really not sure where he is.”

  
“Aww, is there trouble in paradise? You wanna tell me all about it. I can help you feel better.”

  
Simmons looked startled, how did she know?” “Uh…Thanks, but that’s okay. We just had a little argument last night. That’s all.” He didn’t want the kind of help Kai could provide.

  
Grif barged his way through the door. “Simmons, we gotta talk.”

  
“Hi Dexie, how’s my favorite brother?” She grabbed ahold of him.

  
He fought to get free. “Kai, why the hell are you here? Never mind, I don’t care.” He turned to Simmons and thrust the papers in his face.

  
Simmons frowned as he looked at them. “What is this?”

  
“You said you wanted a divorce, now’s your chance. If you really want rid of me, all you have to do is sign them.” He held out a pen.

  
Tears filled Simmons’ eyes, he never believed Grif would go this far. It was only an argument. “Are you sure you want me to do this?” He hesitated.

  
“Well, if you don’t have the guts, you could admit you’re wrong and let me move back in.” He felt so positive he won.

  
Without a word, Simmons signed his name on the dotted line. He shoved the paper to Grif. “There, you got what you wanted, now leave.” He stalked out of the kitchen to hide out in the bedroom to cry in private.

  
Grif stood there watching him leave. He couldn’t make a sound as he felt his world crumble around him. It was all over.

  
He just lost the best friend he had ever had.


	7. Chapter 7

Kai watched the scene wide eyed. “Wow, that sucks for you bro. That’s why I’ve never gotten married.”

  
Grif frowned at her. “What do you mean this sucks for me? Simmons is your family too.”

  
“Only by marriage, and now that he isn’t, I can call dibs on him.” She had a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.

  
Grif ruined it by lightly twisting her arm. “Don’t you even think about it, I still love that loser. I will fight you over him, and you won’t win, got it?” She nodded, so he let her loose.

  
She fixed up her long, black curls that he mussed up. “Seriously bro, why don’t you come stay with me at my apartment? I’ll help you think of a way to get him back.”

  
Grif stared sadly at Simmons’ neat signature. He wasn’t thinking straight. He grabbed the pen and scribbled his name next to his now ex-husband’s. Kai gasped, she didn’t really think he’d do it.

  
“No, no more schemes, no more tricks. We were totally mismatched from the start. Our marriage was already doomed.”

  
“Don’t say things like that. You guys love each other.”

  
“Loved, it’s past tense. Right now, I can’t even stand the sight of his face.” His voice faltered, he almost burst into tears.  
Kai gently placed her hand on his back.

“Hey now, don’t talk like that. Come stay with me for a while. That way, the kids can come visit you all the time.”

  
Grif took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Yeah, I guess that’s for the best. I’m gonna go say goodbye to the kids.” That was the part he was dreading.

  
The three of them were huddled together on Dex’s bed. He had his arms protectively around the twins. He was struggling to keep on a brave face while his younger brother and sister were crying.

  
Grif felt so bad. “Hey guys c’mon, no more tears. This isn’t the end, this is the beginning.”

  
Mira’s face brightened. “Does that mean Daddy will let you come back?”

  
Grif’s fake positive attitude sank. “Well, no not exactly honey.” He didn’t want to lie to them. “We kinda signed our divorce papers.”

  
The kids cried harder. “Daddy no!” Mira was the worst.

  
“Aww Mira, don’t cry. I’m gonna stay with Aunt Kai for a while. Give me a few days to get situated, and the four of us can spend the entire day together.”

  
Jake looked flat out scared. “You really promise that you’ll let us visit? You wouldn’t divorce us too?”

  
Grif held him close. “No way buddy. I love you kids more than anything in the world. You wouldn’t be able to keep me away.”

  
Dex still looked worried. “You know how controlling Dad is, what if he won’t let you visit us?”

  
Grif shook his head. “He’s a major control freak, but he’s not mean. He won’t keep me from visiting.” Grif hoped so.

  
Dex didn’t look super convinced. Mira couldn’t let it go, she wanted her Dads to stay together like they should. Her green eyes got big as she plotted the drama up in her head.

  
“What if there’s this super big emergency and we’re in danger? You won’t be here to protect us.”

  
Grif sighed, she was way too over dramatic. “If any disaster would happen to occur, then nothing would keep me from running to you guys. Don’t worry, you’re not going to lose me.”

  
Jake threw his arms around Grif, he didn’t want to let his Dad go. Mira worked her way in to join in the hug. Dex made a face, but soon gave in and hugged Grif as hard as he could.

  
  
Simmons stood in the hallway listening to Grif say goodbye to the kids. His heart was breaking. Grif has been a pain in the ass for years, but how could he just let him go?

  
Grif stopped in the bedroom to grab the last of his bags. He stiffly walked past Simmons. “Before you start bitching, I only want the rest of my junk then I’m outta your life forever.”

  
“Grif, wait a second. I couldn’t help overhearing you with the kids. You know I would never keep you from seeing them, right? I’ll make sure we file for joint custody.”

  
Grif had his hopes up for a second, they were quickly dashed. He couldn’t look at Simmons, he kept his head down. “Yeah sure, that’s so decent of you. If you need me, or more accurately don’t need me, I’ll be crashing at Kai’s until I find a permanent apartment.”

  
Simmons wanted to say that he did still need Grif, that he didn’t want him to go. He couldn’t get the words out.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it had to end this way. I wanted it to last forever.” It was the closest he could come to apologizing.

  
Grif sighed, he should have known better. “Yeah, I know that, I appreciate hearing it. I’m sorry too, we’re too opposite, this was the only way it could end.” He shrugged and walked to the door. 

Tucker was out in his yard, still helping David out with his kite. He saw Grif walking out with Kai, his suitcase in his hand. His heart sank, guess the plan didn’t go as well as he hoped.

  
“Hey Grif, are you really leaving? If my plan didn’t work out, I can always come up with another. We’ll have old Simmons begging you to take him back…” He stopped short when Grif turned to him.

  
He glared hatefully, he wasn’t in a good mood, and if he couldn’t slug Simmons, Tucker’s face would work out just fine. He was careful to watch his mouth with Tucker’s kid standing there. Wash would give him an hour long lecture.

  
“Shut up Tucker. I’ve had it with all your schemes, you made everything worse. Butt out of my life. I hate you as much as I hate Simmons right now.”

  
Tucker flinched from his words, but he didn’t blame Grif for being so upset. “Hey dude, I’m really sorry. I only wanted to help.”

  
“You sure helped alright, now we’re divorced. Thank you so much for wrecking my marriage.” He turned and walked to Kai’s car. He was too afraid of what else he would say.

  
Wash watched the argument from the porch, he was afraid this would happen. He stalked over to Tucker who still looked in shock. The serious look on Wash’s face told Tucker he was in big trouble.

  
“I knew something ridiculous like this would happen. Why did you have to butt in? I told you Grif and Simmons would work this out on their own. Now, you have it all screwed up and I’ll have to fix it.”

  
Tucker had enough. “You know Wash, I’m not a child so quit treating me like one. You were the Blues’ team leader when we were in the army, but now this is my own damn house too. Chill out, you buzzkill.”

  
Wash groaned. “Real mature Tucker. I’ll stop treating you like a child when you stop acting like one. I could take a lesson from Simmons and kick you out. You couldn’t survive in your own without me bailing you out of trouble all the time.”

  
Tucker was pissed. “Screw this, I’m outta here.” He went to hide away in his rec room so he could pout away his hurt feelings.

Poor David looked on. First his favorite uncles were fighting and now his Dads, it was too much for him to handle.

  
From the back porch, Mira watched the whole scene. She shook her head, even at five years old, she knew everyone was acting stupid. Someone had to fix it, and that someone was going to have to be her. Her face set in a stubborn pose.

  
Mira knew what she had to do.


	8. Chapter 8

Simmons had just finished mowing the lawn. He locked the lawn mower in the shed and went to find Dex. He found him curled up on the couch playing a video game. He shook his head, he was so much like Grif.

  
“Hey Dex, I need to go out and rake up that loose grass for me. Mira’s allergic to it and I need to get it picked up. Can you do that for me please?”

  
“Yeah yeah.” He mumbled, he was still upset with his Father. “When I finish playing.”

  
“Finish up this game, then go out and work. The game will still be here when you’re done. I need some help around here, so be a good influence for your brother and sister.”

  
Dex gave him a look, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure Dad. I’ll take care of it.” He wasn’t that mad at Simmons.

  
“Thanks buddy.” Dex conveniently though took his time with his last game.

Jake was bored, he looked around for Mira, he was hoping she would play with him, but he couldn’t find her. He looked out the back door and saw Mira struggling with the rake. She was allergic to freshly cut grass, she shouldn’t even be outside. He went running.

  
“Mira stop! What are you doing? Dad says you can’t be outside after the yard’s been cut. You’re allergic, remember?”

  
Mira dropped the heavy rake. Even for a five year old, she was awfully small, the rake was a lot bigger than she was. She made up for her lack of size with having a ton of spunk.

“Of course I know I’m ‘lerrgic to grass. That’s why I’m doin’ it.”

  
Jake was confused. “You’re going to end up with an asthma attack. Why do you want to do that?” He tried to take the rake away from her, but she held tightly onto it.

  
“Cause if I do, then Daddy would have to come back. He promised if there was an emergency, he’d come. And I want my Daddy.” She was on the verge of crying.

  
Jake was Finally able to get ahold of the rake. “But you can’t hurt yourself to get him back. Can’t you just pretend you’re hurt?”

  
Her tears stopped before they started. “Thanks Jake, you’re a total genius. I’ll pretend to have an asthma attack. This way both our Daddies will rescue me and they’ll have to get back together.”

  
Jake didn’t look too hopeful. “Well, if you’re sure it’ll work…”

  
“Of course it will. Go get Daddy, tell him I’m having an asthma attack and I’ll pretend I am.”

  
Jake went off to find his Father. He hated this, he didn’t like lying, especially to Simmons. But he agreed with Mira, he wanted their Dads to be happy.

  
He pretended to be in a panic. “Daddy Daddy, come quick. Mira’s having an asthma attack!”

  
Right away, Simmons dropped the knife he was using to cut up carrots. “Oh god, where is she?” He dug out her spare inhaler from the kitchen drawer.

  
“Outside, she tried to rake up the grass in the yard.”

  
Dex heard the commotion, turned off his game and came into the kitchen. The frown on Simmons’ face almost stopped him.

“Dexter! Why was Mira raking that yard when I asked you to do it?”

  
Dex’s face turned red. “You said to do it after my last game. I wasn’t finished yet. I intended to do it, honest. I didn’t know she was going to do it.”

  
Jake felt a twinge of guilt. He didn’t mean to get Dex in trouble. “Yeah Daddy, Mira wanted to do it. I could hardly take the rake from her. She wouldn’t listen.”

He was nervous, he was a very honest child by nature. He wasn’t good at lying.  
He didn’t have to worry, Simmons wasn’t even listening.

He ran out to where his daughter lay crumpled in the ground, gasping for breath. He knelt down to hold her, and helped her use the inhaler. But something wasn’t right. Every other time, her breathing got better. She continued gasping and coughing for air.

  
His heart went cold with fear. “Alright boys, we’re taking her to the hospital, come on.”

Simmons gently carried Mira in his arms. His cheeks were wet with tears. On more than one occasion, he almost lost her when she was a young baby. She drove him crazy, but he loved her so much. Especially after losing Grif; Mira was like his clone.

  
The receptionist called over to him. “Mr. Simmons, Dr. Grey can see Mira now.”

  
“Oh thank god. You’re going to be okay baby, you know Dr. Grey’s the best.” He laid her down on the examination table.

  
“Well thank you sweetie. I could be humble, but yeah, I am the best.” Dr. Grey snuck up behind him and lightly punched him in the arm. “You’re not so bad yourself.” She leaned over Mira. “Hi sweetie pie, that sounds like an awful attack you got there.”

  
Mira could barely nod her head miserably. This acting sick was exhausting, she wished she could quit.

Dr. Grey listened to her breathing. She frowned. “Okay Mira, try to take in some deep breaths for me.” Her frown deepened before she stepped away.

  
Poor Simmons was nearly hysterical. “How bad is she Emily. I’ve never seen her have an asthma attack like this before.”

  
Dr. Grey nodded. “Hmm, I don’t doubt that. If you don’t mind, I’ll need you to step out for a second. I need to ask Mira some questions and I think you’ll be more comfortable in the waiting room.” She started pushing him towards the door.

  
He tried to fight against it, but she was surprisingly strong. “No, I want to stay with my daughter. I can’t lose her like I lost Grif.”

  
Grey’s eyes softened. Her wife, Carolina, told her about that. “I’m really sorry for what you’re going through. Mira will be fine, I only want to ask her a few questions. I think she’ll be more honest about her symptoms if you’re not here. It’s only for five minutes.” She shoved him through the door.

  
Mira forced up the volume of her fake asthma attack. The doctor was smarter than her father, she didn’t know how much longer she could pull this off.

  
Dr. Grey pulled over a chair and stared at Mira with her left eyebrow raised. “You know, you really don’t have to keep this act up any longer.”

  
Mira gasped. “What act?”

  
“I’m not stupid, you know better than to fool me. You know darned well it’s not an actual attack.” She put her hand on Mira’s shoulder. “So tell me, what’s up?”

  
Mira breathed normally again. With tears in her eyes, she gave her favorite doctor the rundown on her problems. “When Daddy left, he said if I had an emergency he’d come back. And I really, really, really want my Daddy back.” She started crying.

  
“So you pulled this little stunt thinking he would come to see you?”

  
Mira nodded. “Jake helped me, we want to get our Daddies back together.”

  
Grey smiled gently at her, she couldn’t blame her. After having two daughters of her own now, Grey automatically went into ‘Mom’ mode.

  
“I understand that sweetie, but you cannot try to make yourself sick like this.” Her face looked super serious. “Your Dad gave you your inhaler, that’s not good for you to use when you don’t need it.”

  
Mira hung her head, all her confidence was gone. “But I want my Daddies.”

  
Dr. Grey’s eyes flashed with an idea. “I tell you what, I know your Dads still love each other. Keep reminding them of that every chance you get. Drive them crazy with it. I’m sure they’ll come to their senses.”

  
Mira stopped crying and looked more hopeful. “‘Kay, I can do that.”

  
Grey patted her arm. “I’m going to call your Dad in. This can be our little secret, I don’t think he has to know about this.” She winked at her.

  
Another scheme materialized in Mira’s head. It made her smile. Of course she will drive Simmons crazy with the idea that he needed Grif back.

  
Mira planned on being the biggest brat that she could be…  



	9. Chapter 9

Dr. Grey called Simmons in to see his daughter. Mira was exhausted from playing sick, so now, she wasn’t faking it too much. He was amazed at how quickly she recovered. He reached down to hold her hand.

  
“I can’t believe how much better you look. God you scared me so much.”

  
Dr. Grey came in behind him. She promised to keep Mira’s secret for her. “Yeah, she’s a fast little healer, or maybe I’m a really good doctor. Either way, she’s fine to go home, just take it easy.”

  
She handed Mira an orange lollipop. They exchanged evil little grins. Mira felt better, at least the doctor was on her side. “Thank you Dr. Grey.”

  
She gave her a big hug before going out to the waiting room to see her brothers. The three had a moment to talk before Simmons came out.

  
Dex looked critical, he didn’t approve of her behavior. “You were just faking this, weren’t you?”

  
Mira rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but we want our Dads back together, don’t we?”

  
Jake looked torn. “Well yes, but we can’t make Daddy worry like this.”

  
Dex agreed. “We’re going to get in trouble. Dad’s already mad enough at me as it is thanks to you. I don’t want to spend the last of my summer vacation being grounded.”

  
Mira shrugged. “Then don’t help, I can do this by myself.”

  
She sounded so confident, Jake worried about her. He had the sinking feeling he would be involved in more of her schemes.

Wash was worried about Tucker. It was already evening, and he was still hiding down in his rec room. Wash sighed as he knocked on the cellar door.

  
“Tucker, dinner is almost ready. Do you plan on staying down there all day sulking?” He was worse than one of the kids.

  
Tucker’s voice was muffled from behind the door. “Yeah I do. You said I was acting like a child, so I plan on living like it.”

  
Wash shook his head and gave up. Tucker could be so childish, there was no point in arguing with him while he was in that mood. He went to go round up the kids.

  
Chloe has been in her room reading a book. She came out to help Wash finish getting dinner ready. At not even eight years old, she was already to a big help to Wash at keeping the household running smoothly. Her downside was she inherited a little too much of Tucker’s sarcastic attitude.

  
She noticed the closed cellar door. “So I take it Dad’s still down there pouting?”

  
Wash nodded. “Yep, I’m afraid it’s going to be an all night thing, you know how he gets. Where’s your brother at?”

  
She looked a little worried. “He was in his room, coloring. I offered to play with him, but he said he didn’t want to.”

  
It was Wash’s turn to look worried. “He heard too much of our fight earlier, I was afraid it would upset him. I better go get him. You see if you can get your Dad to come up.”

  
Wash peeked in David’s room. “Knock knock, it’s almost dinner time. You want to come eat with us?”

  
David shrugged. Wash could tell he had been crying. He sniffled. “Will Daddy be there?”

  
Wash hated lying to him. “Yes, I’m sure he’ll come up.” He took David’s hand and led him out to the kitchen.

  
He saw Chloe coming up from the basement with a smile on her face. “I did it, I got the elusive Dad to come out of hiding.” She looked proud of herself.

  
Tucker followed behind her, he didn’t look happy. Wash was worried about him. With the way they’ve been bickering back and forth lately, they were getting as bad as Grif and Simmons.

  
David’s face lit up when he saw Tucker. “Daddy’s back!” He looked so happy for the first time all day.

  
Tucker forced a smile for his son. He didn’t want to upset the kids. “Yeah little dude, I’m back.”

  
The conversation at dinner was strained. Tucker talked to the kids, but he avoided eye contact with Wash. He tried not to be hurt by Tucker’s behavior. Wash was well aware that he technically started the fight, but he figured Tucker would snap out of mood by now.

  
After dinner, Chloe helped Wash straighten up the kitchen. That was their little nightly ritual to spend quality time together. Tucker went with David to color with him. The house was a little more quiet than usual, but at least Wash could almost calm down now.

  
Later, they put the kids to bed separately. Chloe raised her eyebrow when Wash came in after Tucker did.

“Wow, you guys really are mad at each other, huh?” She was used to her Dads arguing a lot, the fact that they were being quiet about it, concerned her.

  
Wash knew she was old enough for the truth. “Yes, you know how sometimes we like to argue the same as you do with your brother. It doesn’t mean that we still don’t love each other.”

  
“So you two get sick of each other’s faces like I do with David’s sometimes?”

  
She made Wash smile. “Yes sweetie, something like that. Don’t worry about it, it’s fine. Goodnight.” He kissed her forehead.

  
“Night Dad.”

  
By the time Wash got to the bedroom, Tucker was grabbing his pillow. “Tucker, what the hell are you doing?”

  
“If I’m nothing but a big, spoiled child, then you certainly don’t need me around. I’ll spend my night on the couch.”

  
Wash rolled his eyes. “Oh lord… fine, do what you want, it’s not worth arguing over. Have fun on the lumpy couch.”

He lay down in bed and covered up with the sheet. He turned out the lamp, leaving Tucker in the dark. He stood looking at Wash.

  
“I said I was going to the couch.” He said it so loudly, he was hoping to change Wash’s mind.

  
Wash just mumbled at him. “Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time.”

  
Tucker huffed and stalked to the couch. Right away, a spring from the couch starting digging into his back. That was all he needed. He was debating over whether or not to move to the floor.

He made the excuse to go to the bathroom.  
He heard David stirring in his bedroom. He could have sworn he heard him crying.

“Damn, I guess that fight with Wash upset the kiddo.” He went to check on him.

  
He opened David’s door all the way, he was definitely crying. “Hey little dude, what’s wrong?”

  
David’s crying grew louder. In a flash, Tucker was at his bedside. “I’m scared, if you ‘an Daddy get a ‘vorce, you might go away like Uncle Grif did. I don’t want to leave.”

  
Tucker sat at the edge of his bed and held him. “No honey, we are not getting a divorce too. Even if we did, I’d never leave you. My Dad left me when I was little and it sucked big time. I’ll never do that to you and Chloe.”

  
“Promise?”

  
Tucker smiled at him. “Yes, I definitely promise. Why don’t you stop worrying and try to get some sleep.”

  
He tucked David in and stayed for a minute to make sure he was okay before he got up to go back to the couch from hell. Out in the hallway, he nearly ran into Wash.

  
“Jesus Wash, don’t scare like that. Why are you creeping around in the dark?”

  
“I heard David crying, I got up to check on him, but you beat me to it.”

  
“Yeah surprise, I actually know how to be a good parent.”

  
“You’re an excellent parent. You’ve always been great with the kids.” Tucker turned to go back to the living room. “Tucker Wait.”

  
Tucker’s hopes were up, maybe their argument can end now. He played it cool. “Yeah?”

  
“I heard you in there with David. It’s not fair to traumatize the kids like this… or you. I’m sorry, I know you were only trying to help. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” He felt better for apologizing.

  
“Does this mean I can come back to the bedroom?”

  
“Sure.” He put his arms around Tucker.  
They had a lot of making up to do. Wash silently vowed on no more fighting…at least until the next time Tucker did something stupid.  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

“Mira Kai! I swear, if you break one more thing, sick or not, you’re going to get it.”

Simmons felt like he was going to have a nervous breakdown as he barely saved the lamp from his hyperactive daughter.

  
“But Daddy, I’m so bored.”

  
“You’re supposed to be resting. You’ve been doing anything but that. And Jacob I’m disappointed with you for playing so wildly with her.” The twins had already broken two knickknacks and almost took out the living room lamp.

  
Mira resented his Father’s tone. “You won’t let me play outside and I wanna play catch. Why is it my fault Jake can’t catch the ball?”

  
Jake’s face burned with embarrassment. He hated getting yelled at by his Dad, but he couldn’t disappoint Mira. He hoped she knew what she was doing.

  
“We have company coming soon. I would like to not have the house wrecked by the time they get here.” He carefully rearranged the lamp.

  
Mira looked mildly interested. “Who’s comin’?”

  
“Grandma Simmons is coming over for dinner tonight. She said she has big news to tell us.”

  
Jake perked up. “Is Mr. Sarge coming with her?”

  
Simmons had to smile over his son’s enthusiasm. He was proud that the two of them could share the same role model.

“Oh I’m pretty sure he’ll show up. He’s quite taken with you kids.” He felt good knowing he raised good kids…well, except for Mira.

  
Jake’s cheeks turned pink. “Yay, I want to see if I can call him Grandpa Sarge.”

  
Simmons smiled fondly and ruffled his hair. “I’m sure he’ll like that.”

  
Mira tugged at her Dad’s sleeve. “But shouldn’t Daddy be here too? It’s his Sarge too.” Her face was stuck in it’s stubborn pout.

  
Simmons hesitated. “No honey, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  
“But why? Don’t you ever want him around? Don’t you love him anymore?”

  
The pain shot through his heart. The answer was yes to both those questions. He couldn’t get her hopes up.

  
“I loved him very much, but now it’s time to move on…” The image of Grif dating again flashed through his mind, he angrily pushed it aside. “Now it’s time to ready for company, so scram.”

  
She mumbled under her breath, but she went to her room. Getting her parents back together was tougher than she thought.

“Where are my grandkids? Dickie, we’re here.”

  
His Mother’s cheerful voice was grating on Simmons’ nerves. He wanted to sit alone and cry. Now he had to put on a happy face and pretend that everything was alright. He had to do that for the kids, there was no point upsetting his Mother with his problems.

  
“Yes Mom, we’re here.” He pushed the kids forward to greet their Grandmother. Only Jake cooperated, Mira and Dex were both too upset.

  
Sarge huffed his way through the door. “That damned car is so hard to park. It’s too big, I’m gonna trade it in for another Warthog. Now those are damn fine driving machines.”

  
Meredith elbowed him. “Hush up, watch your mouth around the children!”

  
For the first time, he noticed the kids were watching him. “Oh yeah yeah. And how are the little whippersnappers doin’?”

  
Jake didn’t hesitate to go straight to him. “Hello Mr. Sarge, sir!”

  
Dex rolled his eyes. “Could you be any more of a suckup?”

  
Sarge smiled fondly, it was like listening to Simmons and Grif all over again. He would never admit it, but he missed the good old days back in Blood Gulch. He even missed Grif…wait, where was Grif?

  
“I don’t see a certain pain in the ass hanging around harassing me. Is he hiding somewhere planning an ambush?”

  
Again Meredith smacked his arm. “Behave yourself.” She turned to Simmons. “He is right though, is Griffie okay?”

  
“Uh, yes I imagine so. We haven’t talked in a while.”

  
Mira blurted out. “Those two had a bad fight, and Daddy took off. I had a big asthma attack over and everything.” She tried to look as injured as possible. Simmons felt mortified.

  
Meredith wrapped her arms around her. “Why you poor little thing. Are you feeling better?”

  
Mira gave a weak nod as she held onto her Grandmother. “I was until Daddy yelled at me for trying to be nice and play with Jake.”

  
Meredith gave Simmons a stern look. “Dick, how could you yell at this precious little girl, especially when she’s sick. And what is this about Grif leaving you?”

  
Sarge chuckled. “Well son, that ain’t a flattering sign when you’re dumped by that no good, lazy bum. But then again, you’re better off. You can’t do any worse than Dexter Grif.”

  
Simmons felt the knife in his heart twisted just a little more. Never before had he wanted to slug Sarge, but his insults against Grif could do it. Despite how the marriage turned out, Grif was the best thing that ever happened to him, that was the love of his life.

  
All three of the kids stiffened up and moved away from Sarge, even Jake. They loved their Dad, they didn’t want to hear him insulted.

Meredith moved away with them. “I cannot believe you just said that about my son in law, and in front of his kids.”

  
Sarge looked startled, he didn’t think anyone would mind. Sarcasm and insults were how he and Grif had always got along. “No Mer, kids. I wasn’t making fun of ole Grif. I don’t like to admit it, but I’ll miss him as much as all of you do. It was only a joke.”

  
Meredith and Jake forgave him, but Dex and Mira kept a distance. Dex wanted to escape to his room to play video games. Mira just wanted Grif back.

  
Simmons excused himself to bring out the roast. He left it cool a few minutes on the counter so he could carry it to the dining room table. He carefully picked up the pan, it was still hot.

  
He heard a clattering at the back door, someone was trying to open it. He almost dropped the roast, Who the hell was trying to break in?” He grabbed one of his good kitchen knives. It didn’t look impressive, but it was sharp. It would do it’s job.

  
He was all set to stab the intruder when he saw the familiar messy black curls and warm brown eyes of Grif. Quickly Simmons dropped the knife in the counter.

  
“Damn you Grif, I could have stabbed you. Why the hell are you breaking in like this?”

  
Grif gave him a teasing wink. “Holding that woosy looking knife makes you look like more of a loser. Anyway, it’s still my house too, I’m not exactly breaking into it.”

  
“It is not, you went to live with Kai and left me with three kids, after giving me divorce papers to sign. No, it’s not your house anymore.”

  
“I did not leave you with the kids, that’s why I’m here. I’m settled in at Kai’s, I wanted them to come over and hang out for a while. And it’s not like I twisted your arm to sign those papers.”

  
Mira had been eavesdropping, she came into the kitchen. “Daddy, I wanna hang out with you. Dad’s no fun no more. I even had an asthma attack because he was being so mean to me.”

  
Grif couldn’t help smiling as he picked her up. “Oh, he’s that mean is he?”

  
Simmons gasped. “I was not being mean to you. Anyway, Mom and Sarge came over, I can’t let the kids just leave now. It’s not polite.”

  
“It’s only your Mom and Sarge, that’s not important.”

  
“My Mother is too important. You’re just jealous because Sarge always liked me and hated you.”

  
“Cause you were a whiny little kiss ass, that’s why.”

  
Simmons dropped his head in his hands. “Grif, enough of this. This is why we’re divorced. You can see the kids whenever you want, but I don’t want to see you, ever again. I’m done.”

He grabbed the meat platter and pushed Mira back towards the dining room. She had tears in her eyes as she looked back at Grif. Grif had his own tears streaming down his face.

  
Now her Dads were serious. She would have to show them no mercy.


	11. Chapter 11

“But Daddy, I don’t wanna go back, I don’t want any dinner. I wanna go with the nice Daddy, you’re being mean. You two together make the perfect Daddy, I want you both.”

  
Simmons stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. “Mira, you’re too young to understand all this. You’re Father and I have had our problems for years before we ever got married. I thought I could fix it, I thought he would try, but it wasn’t meant to be fixed, I’m sorry.”

  
The sad look on Mira’s face nearly broke his heart. “All you have to do is bring him back.”

  
Simmons sighed, he still loved Grif more than anything in the world. “I wish it was that easy honey.”

  
“Yes it is.” She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back to the kitchen. “Go tell Daddy.”

  
Simmons refused to go. “Let’s just get through this dinner. We’ll talk more about this tonight.” Which meant he never wanted to bring it up again.

  
Mira huffed and hung her head. She was so close. She had one more idea. “No, I don’t wanna go in.”

  
“Mira, now is not a good time, come on and behave. Let’s go eat our dinner.”

  
Her face was set in her most serious pout. “No, I’m not going in there without Daddy. I’ll never eat again and you can’t make me!”

  
Simmons didn’t have the strength to deal with her. Only Grif could get her out of these moods. “Fine, then go to your room.”

  
“Good!” She ran to her bedroom and slammed the door as loud as she could.

  
Simmons had to choke back his tears. He knew Mira was justifiable to be upset, but he couldn’t let her get away with acting like a brat. He was losing control of his family. He reluctantly entered the dining room.

  
Everyone was quiet, they heard Mira’s temper tantrum over Grif. The mood was awkward.

  
Simmons kept his composure as he sat down at the table. “We’ll go everyone and eat.” Eating was the last thing he wanted to do.

  
Jake felt the same way, he picked at his food while looking at Mira’s empty chair. She had been gone too long, he thought he should probably go check on her.

  
Simmons reached over and patted his hand. “She’s Okay Jake, go ahead and eat. Everyone go ahead, it’s fine.” Even he couldn’t believe his own lie.

  
He couldn’t take the awkward silence that followed. “So Mom, when you called you mentioned you had some big news. I think we could all use some good news right about now.”

  
Meredith’s face turned red. “Oh honey, I don’t think now is the best time.”

  
“Go ahead, this evening can’t get any worse.”

  
“Well if you insist. Sarge proposed to me last night…and I accepted.” She showed off her diamond engagement ring.

  
“You’ll finally get your wish sonnie, you can call me ‘Dad’.” Sarge elbowed him in the shoulder.

  
Jake perked up slightly. “Can I call you Grandpa Sarge?”

  
“You sure can. I’m proud to have you as my Grandson. I can make a fine soldier out of you boy.”

  
Any other time, Simmons would be so happy for his Mother, so proud that his son could have such a good role model as Sarge. But right now, he felt like the wind was knocked out of him. He flashed back to When a Grif proposed to him, how happy they had been. Now it was gone.

  
Meredith leaned over. “What’s wrong Dickie, you don’t look so good.”

  
Simmons shook off the memory. “Just remembering when Grif and I got engaged. We were so happy, now it’s turned to official divorce.”

  
“Oh honey, is that bad?”

  
Simmons slowly nodded. “Yes, the papers are all signed and it’s legally a divorce.”

  
Dex and Jake still held out hope that their Dads’ marriage could be saved, now they knew that Mira was right. Dex got up from the table and ran to hide in his room. Jake’s eyes filled with tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of Sarge.

  
“I…I gotta check on Mira.” He too went running from the table.

  
Simmons dropped his fork and pushed his chair back from the table. “I’m terrible at this, and I blamed Grif for being a terrible husband. I failed my husband and my kids.”

  
His Mom tried to help. “Oh now Dickie, don’t.”

  
“No Mom, it’s all my fault. I’m sorry about dinner, I have to check in the kids.”

He went to the twins’ room to check in Mira. Jake was on her bed trying to coax her out from under the bedspread. He could hear her sobbing.

  
Jake looked so worried. “She won’t come out Daddy.”

  
“Okay Jakey, I’ll get her out. Why don’t you go play a video game with Dex and I’ll talk to Mira?”

  
Jake looked skeptical. “You won’t make her worse?”

  
Simmons shot him an exasperated look. “Of course not, just go.” Simmons sat on her bed. “Mira, I know you’re mad at me and I’m not too happy with you either, but can you come out so we can talk?”

  
“What for? You’re mean, I want Daddy!”

  
“I know you do.” So do I. “But he’s not here right now, it’s just me. So can we talk?”

  
She slowly lifted her head from under the covers. Her ginger curls were a tangled mess. Simmons tried to reach over to straighten them out, but Mira jerked away. Simmons sighed and left her be.

  
“I know you want us to get back together, I know that’s why you’re acting up like this.” He hoped this was why she was being a brat. “But there is so much to this divorce that you are too young to understand.”

  
“I understand that you and Daddy were happy and you loved each other, what more do you need?”

  
“I went out of my way every single day to make sure you guys were taken care of and happy. That took up all my time and your Dad refused to lift a finger to help me. I’m tired and grumpy all the time. I gave him the choice and he left. I’m trying to move on the best I can.”

  
“Does that mean if we don’t do what you want, you can divorce us too?” Her bright green eyes filled with tears.

  
“No, of course not. I love you kids more than anything, I’m here forever, nothing can change that.”

  
“Then you should let Daddy come back.” Her stubborn mind was set in the idea.

Nothing Simmons said could change that.  
Mira didn’t get it, nobody did. Everyone sided with Grif, no one thought about his own pain. Grif was the one who brought the divorce papers, Simmons never intended it to go that far. What was doing, he was trying to argue with a five year old.

  
He spoke quietly to Mira one last time before he had to leave. “Honey, I can’t make someone love me when they don’t anymore. That’s why your Daddy can’t come back.”

  
He closed her door and walked into his own bedroom before he broke down crying. He felt like no one cared that he was unhappy.

  
Grif never cared…  
  



	12. Chapter 12

Mira woke up early in the morning. The house was still quiet. Good, she had some work to do. She looked over at Jake’s bed, he was snoring softly. She jumped off her bed and tugged at his pajama sleeve.

  
“Huh? Mira, what do you want?” Jake tried to push her away from him. He was always so grumpy when he first woke up.

  
She kept bugging him until he was awake. He reached over up his night stand and put on his glasses. “Jakey, I need your help. I got one last scheme to get our Daddies back together.”

  
“But you can’t get them together. Daddy said last night they were divorced for real.”

  
Mira huffed loudly. “I don’t care, they need to be together. I have to at least try.”

  
Jake sighed and gave in. “Fine, what do you have in mind.”

  
“I’m gonna run away from home.”

  
Now Jake really was awake. “No way, you can’t do that! I won’t let you!”

  
“Shh, don’t wake Daddy up. I don’t mean to run away for real, it’s just pretend. If I make our Daddies worried enough, when they find me, they’ll be glad and get back together.”

  
Jake made a face. “After the way you acted yesterday, are you sure Daddy wants to find you?” He thought it was funny, even if Mira didn’t.

  
She hit him. “Shut up. I need you to keep Daddy distracted so I can sneak out.”

  
Jake shook his head. “I still say no. Even if it’s pretend, what if something happens to you?”

  
“I’m just gonna hide out in the park. I’ll be playing, what’s the worst that could happen?”

  
“Knowing you, it could be anything.”

  
“C’mon Jake, help me out.”

  
“Okay, but if I get grounded, it’s all your fault.”

  
They heard Simmons get up and head for the kitchen. Mira slipped out the window. Jake hoped he would see his twin again. He made his way to the kitchen to distract his Dad for Mira.

Simmons and Jake had been enjoying a nice conversation together. Simmons was relieved, Jake was the only one of his kids that didn’t hate him. It was nice to spend some peaceful bonding time with his son. He looked up at the clock.

  
“Wow, it’s almost 10:00, I wonder where Dex and Mira are at?”

  
Jake was alarmed, he tried to change the subject. “Well, Dex was up till late with his video game, and Mira was up crying for a while.”

  
Simmons looked concerned. “You know, maybe I better try talking to her some more.”

  
Jake stopped him. “No…don’t do that. Sh…she’s still mad at you.” Jake squirmed, he was terrible at lying. His Dad was going to catch on.

  
Jake was saved by a knock at the door. When Simmons opened it, he had to resist the urge to slam it shut. Kaikaina was standing there, in stiletto heels, full makeup, and wearing next to no clothes. His black shorts couldn’t get any shorter and her yellow tube top hardly covered anything.

  
Simmons cringed. “Morning Kai. Is there something I can help you with?”

  
“Hey there handsome.” She winked at him with her false eyelashes. “You sure can. Dexie wants to know if the kiddos can come over. Like he really misses them.”

  
Simmons’ heart lurched. Grif didn’t miss him. “How come he didn’t come ask me that himself?”

  
“Uhh, it was that whole ‘I don’t ever want to see you again’ thing you said to him.”

  
Damnit, Simmons forgot about that. “Oh yeah, I guess that would have made it awkward. I’m sure they’d love to see him. I’ll go get them.”

  
Kai put her hand on his arm to stop him. She batted her eyelashes furiously at him. “You know, the kids will be gone. You wanna go out and have a hamburger or something with me?”

  
“Umm, no I don’t think so. Not this time.” He tried to back away, but she wouldn’t let go.

  
“Why not, you’re not married anymore.”

  
His heart was pounding, he needed Grif to save him like he always did when Kai was around. “True, but I can’t start dating yet, it’s been too soon.” It was always be too soon to date Kai. “I’ll go get the kids.” He broke free from her grip.

He found Dex in his room reading. He was purposely trying to avoid Simmons. He tried not to have feelings hurt over that.

“Aunt Kai is here. She wants to know if you want to visit your Dad?”

  
He had Dex’s interest. “Yes! I’ll get ready.”

  
In the twins’ room, he saw Jake, but Mira was nowhere around. “Hey Jake, where’s your sister?”

  
He looked innocent. “I dunno.”

  
Simmons tried to keep his patience. “Jake, I’m serious. Your Dad wants to see you guys, where is she?”

  
Jake’s eyes got big with panic. “I… wasn’t supposed to tell.”

  
Now Simmons was worried, he sat beside him. “Honey, whatever it is, you can tell me. You can tell me anything.”

  
“But you yell a lot.”

  
“Not when it’s important like this. Did Mira do something stupid?”

  
Jake nodded, he couldn’t keep it in any longer. “She ran away from home.”

  
“What! What in the world was she thinking about? When did leave?”

  
“Right when you got up this morning.”

  
“Oh my god, she could be anywhere by now.”

  
He ran out to the kitchen to see Kai. “Apparently, Mira thought it was a good idea to run away. Do you know anything about it?”

  
She shook her head, but had to hold back a chuckle. “No, but is this how terrible a father you are?”

  
“Shut up Kai, this is serious. I’m calling Grif.”

  
He answered on the third ring. “Woah, I didn’t think you were talking to me loser.”

  
“Grif, Mira ran away. Please tell me you knew about this?” His voice was pleading.

  
Grif got quiet. “No, I swear I didn’t. Why would she do that?”

  
“Because she’s been plotting to get us back together.”

  
That’s my girl. “Poor kid. Well, she couldn’t have gotten that far. I’ll head out and look for her. She’s probably trying to make her to me, maybe I can catch her.”

  
“Good idea. I’ll send the boys out with Kai, and I’ll start calling everybody. Someone’s had to have seen her.”

Simmons’ voice quivered with fear as he spoke. If something happened to her, it would be his fault.

  
“Hey, don’t worry, she’s a tough kid. I know you’re blaming yourself right about now, so stop it, it’s both our faults. We’ll find her, I promise. I’m leaving.”

  
“Thanks Grif.”

  
He turned to Kai. She had gotten quiet while he was on the phone. She heard the two of them, she knew they still loved each other.

  
“Can you take the boys around the neighborhood to look? I’m going to call Wash and Dr. Grey. I’ll put everyone on the alert.”

  
She nodded as she took Dex and Jake’s hands. “Sure can, we’ll find her for you.”

  
His hands shook as he dialed Wash and Tucker’s house. Why didn’t he pay attention sooner? How could he let her leave the house? What if she got kidnapped or murdered?

  
Their last conversation didn’t go well, how could he live with himself if she didn’t know how much he loved her? She was always going to think that he hated her.

  
What he wouldn’t give to hold Mira close and tell her how much she meant to him…  
  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

Wash knew something was wrong before he even answered the phone. “Hi Simmons, is something wrong?”

  
Simmons’ quivering voice told him his instincts were right. “Wash, is there any chance that Mira is hiding out at your house?”

  
Wash thought that was a strange question. “No, I haven’t seen her. The kids have been playing with a puzzle all morning. Is Mira okay?”

  
Simmons broke down. “God, I don’t know. She’s been so upset over the divorce, so apparently she ran away to try to get Grif and I back together. Now I have no idea where she is.”

  
Wash had to admit that kid had a lot of spunk. If anyone could get Grif and Simmons back together, Mira could. “Oh man, I’m so sorry. I’ll get Tucker and the kids and start looking.”

  
“Thanks Wash. I still have to call Dr. Grey, Mira could be hiding out over there.”

  
His hands were shaking as he dialed the phone. Please, just let Mira be in a safe place.

Grif frowned as he slowly drove to his now former home. He kept his eyes peeled for any signs of Mira. Ever since his ex-husband called, his mind had been running wild with every worst case scenario. He knew every moment of her life, he couldn’t lose her now.

  
He was still filled with remorse that six years ago, when Simmons admitted that he wanted a second child, Grif was against it. When they found out they were having twins, his mood didn’t improve, he didn’t want three children.

Now, she was all he could think of.  
Right from the start, Mira had been the trouble child. She was born premature and almost died a few times when she was a little baby, but she was too stubborn to quit fighting. That was the trait that Grif loved the most about her, she was a fighter.

  
She stole his heart the very moment they met. Out of the three kids, with her ginger red hair, she looked the most like Simmons. That only helped to deepen their bond. Now, he was in danger of losing both of them forever. How could he go on without Mira and Simmons?

  
By the time he made it to the house, he was crying so hard, he could hardly see. He couldn’t believe there was no trace of her. He hoped Simmons had better luck. He didn’t bother with knocking, he just barged his way through the door.

  
“Hey, any luck?” He stopped short. The look of angst on Simmons’ face told him the answer was no.

  
Simmons had to wipe the tears from his cheeks before he could answer. “No, she isn’t at Wash’s or Emily’s. Oh lord, she’s out there all by herself, she’s just a baby. And I yelled at her yesterday when she was only trying to help…she must hate me.” He broke down sobbing.

  
Grif had to choke back his own tears. He wasn’t entirely sure if Simmons would let him, but he put his arms around and held him close. Simmons flinched, yet didn’t move away, he was grateful for it. He forgot how good it felt to be in Grif’s protective embrace. He let him hold him until the tears calmed down.

  
Simmons reluctantly broke away and tried to take a deep, calming breath. Mira needed him to stay strong. “We have Wash and Tucker our looking for her, and Emily sent out Carolina too. I don’t know what else to do.”

  
“Take it easy, we’ll find her. She’s a tough kid, she’ll be fine. Let’s both take off and start looking.” Grif was afraid he was pressing his luck. “If you want, we can go out together.” He gave him an easy look, would Simmons go for it?

  
To his relief, he nodded. Simmons secretly hoped Grif would suggest that, he felt better with him nearby.

“Sure, I got my cell phone in case someone finds her first. Let’s go.” He pushed Grif out the door, he wanted Mira.

Nearby, at the park down the road, Mira hid in some bushes and waited. She kept her fingers crossed that both her Dads would come to save her. This was her last mastermind idea, it had to work. She wished they would hurry up, she was getting tired.

  
She saw her brothers go by with their Aunt Kai. She resisted the urge to go running to them, she really loved her Aunt. Oh well, there would be plenty of time to visit with Kai later. She hid deeper into the bushes.

  
Jake was the only one who knew where she was, and even couldn’t find her. She was scared that he would blow it. He kept looking around, trying to find Mira. It was a good thing Kai wasn’t that bright.

  
She whispered to herself as if Jake could hear her. “Jake, stop it. Get them out of here.”

  
As if he heard her, he looked directly to her hiding place. “C’mon Aunt Kai, Mira’s not around here. Let’s go look someplace else.”

  
Kai nodded. “How about we go check by the ice cream stand. While we’re there, we could pick up some ice cream cones for ourselves.”

  
Dex perked up at that idea. “Yeah, if I’m stuck out here looking for my brat of a sister, I deserve something.” Mira narrowed her eyes. He deserved to get smacked later for that comment.

  
Jake did his job and led them away. Now Mira was sad, she wanted ice cream too. Her nose was starting to tingle, she reached instinctively into her pocket. Darn it, she forgot her inhaler. It was still at home on her dresser. Where were her Dads?

  
She climbed out and climbed on the jungle gym so she could get a better view. Grif wouldn’t let her down. She knew he would come find her. He promised, and this was an emergency. She hoped he would hurry.

  
There was a rustling in the bushes behind her. Her heart froze. What if it was a kidnapper, what if it was a bear? She was stuck at the top of the jungle gym, she had nowhere to run.

  
“Mira Grif-Simmons, what are you doing?”

  
Carolina found her, her heart filled with dread. “Uh-oh, I thought you were a bear.”

  
Carolina smiled faintly. “I don’t think there are many bears on this part of Chorus. Do you know how worried we all were about you?”

  
Mira hung her head. “I only want my Daddies back. I didn’t know how else to do it.”

  
Carolina’s critical frown softened. “I called your Dads, they’re on their way.”

  
Mira’s face perked up. “Both of them?”

  
“Yes, both of them. I don’t approve of your methods, but at least you got them to stop fighting for now.”

  
As on cue, they could hear Simmons’ bossy tone as he got closer to the jungle gym. He looked up at Mira. “Mira Kai, what were you thinking of? Do you know how scared we were?”

  
Grif shot him a look. “Hey, right now who cares, she’s safe. No wonder she ran away, with all your bitching, you drove the poor kid crazy.”

  
“At least I stuck around and didn’t run away every time life gets too tough.”

  
“Well, if this your kind of parenting, maybe I should file for full custody of the kids.”

  
“Go ahead and try, I’ll sue you for everything you have. And it isn’t much.”

  
Mira’s face fell, all this work was for nothing.

Carolina looked at Simmons and Grif, then looked at Mira’s sad face. This bullshit had to end. One way or another.

  
Simmons went from relief to rage. “Mira, get down from there right now! You’re grounded, we’re going home.”

  
She found out quickly that it was easier getting up then coming down. Her shoe slipped on the slippery metal. She had time to let out one small scream.

  
When she landed hard on the concrete, she couldn’t feel a thing.  
  



	14. Chapter 14

Mira had the wind knocked out of her. She landed on her left left arm, it was bent at a weird angle behind her. At first, she didn’t feel any pain, then she noticed her arm. She started crying. “Daddies, help me.”

  
Grif was at her side in a second, he actually outran Simmons. He knelt beside her and held her hand. “It’s okay baby, I’m here. I’m never leaving you again.” He shot a worried look towards Simmons.

  
Simmons was too busy checking over Mira to make sure nothing else was hurt, he was barely paying attention. Grif relaxed a little.

  
Mira’s left knee was skinned up pretty badly, but she always scuffed up get knees, Simmons wasn’t too worried about it. He knelt down beside Grif.

  
“Is it just your arm sweetheart? You didn’t hurt your head or anything did you?” He gently raised her head so she could lean against him and not against the concrete. He put his arms protectively around her.

  
She closed her eyes as she tried to forget about the pain. Even if only for a little while, her Dads were getting along, she could handle this. “No Daddy, my arm hurts, really, really, really bad.”

  
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you to the doctor. She’ll fix you up in no time.”

  
She leaned her head against his chest and gripped onto Grif’s hand a little tighter. She was determined to keep both of them with her. Grif reached over to hold Simmons’ hand. He wasn’t sure what would happen, Simmons flinched, but he let him do it. Grif took it as a good sign.

  
Carolina hung up her phone. She hated to ruin the little family moment, but she was the only one here that had some medical training. “I just called Emily, she’ll be standing by.”

  
She got a closer look at Mira’s arm. She moved it as gently as she could, but Mira still winced in pain. “Darn, it looks like it might be broken. I’m sorry honey, Emily will be able to do more than I can at this point. I’ll bring the Jeep around.”

  
Simmons nodded, he looked like he was still in shock. “Thanks Carolina.” He let out a deep sigh, he couldn’t wait for this day to end.

  
Grif looked uneasy. “Well, what’s going to happen now?”

  
Simmons frowned, he wasn’t sure what Grif meant. “We’re going to the hospital to help our daughter.”

  
“No, I mean after that.”

  
Simmons looked sadly at him. “I don’t know, I just don’t know…”

  
In no time at all, Carolina had Mira and her Dads set up at the hospital. She drove like a maniac, Simmons was still car sick as they waited for Dr. Grey.

  
Grif almost laughed at his green face. Simmons had the same reaction to his driving when they were stationed at Blood Gulch. It brought tears to his eyes, there were too many painful memories.

  
Grey flounced dramatically through the exam room door, much like she always did. Everyone in the room jumped. She had her six month old daughter, Allie, in her arms and two year old Maddie followed closely beside her.

“Sorry, Sorry, Sorry I’m so late. Trying to round up the girls wasn’t easy.”

  
Carolina groaned at her. “Em, this really isn’t the place to bring the kids.”

  
Grey thrust the squirming baby into Carolina’s arms. “Well, I couldn’t very well leave them home alone, could I? There’s no babysitters, everyone was out looking for this little rascal.” She ruffled Mira’s curls. “You got a hurt arm there?”

  
Mira nodded sadly, her Dads were still fighting.

  
Grey put her arm her. “C’mon, I’m gonna check out that arm, we’ll see how bad it is.”

  
Simmons was trying to shake off his last waves of nausea. Grif went to put his arm around him, Simmons jerked away and went to stand to stand at the other end of the small office.

  
Little Maddie watched her favorite uncles in amazement. Any other time you couldn’t separate her from Simmons, he was her honorary father. Today, she sensed the bad mood between them and moved closer to Carolina.

  
Grey always kept a playpen and kid’s toys in her office for the times when she had to bring the girls with her. Carolina set Allie in the playpen with her favorite stuffed animals. She directed Maddie towards the coloring books and crayons.

  
“Here honey, color Mira a get well picture.”

  
Maddie gave a big smile, Mira was her favorite playmate. “‘Kay Mommy.” Carolina felt better having the kids distracted.

  
Grif’s feelings were hurt. “Well this is a fine mess you got us into.”

  
Simmons looked at him. “How is this my fault?”

  
“If you wouldn’t have yelled at her, she wouldn’t have ran away.”

  
“If you would stick around and help raise your kids, she wouldn’t have acted up.”

  
“Hey, you were the one who wanted a divorce.”

  
“You were the one who brought home the papers.”

  
“Because nothing I ever do is good enough for you.”

  
“No, it’s because you never do anything…”

  
Carolina had enough. She grabbed Simmons’ shirt with one hand and Grif’s with the other. Before they knew it, she slammed them both up against the wall.

“That’s enough out of both of you.”  
Grif was in shock, Simmons’ eyes were big and scared. He was still terrified of Carolina. Maddie looked up from her coloring with a smile, they deserved her Mom’s rath.

  
“How can you both be so stupid? You know how you mean to one another, how much your family means to both of you, and you’re willing to throw it all away on stupid pride. Look what your own daughter was willing to go through to help you. You two belong together, so get over it.”

  
Simmons looked uneasy, he knew she was right. “Grif, I love you. I didn’t mean all that crap that I said to you. I don’t want a divorce, I never did. You just drive me crazy sometimes.” It felt good to tell him the truth.

  
“Yeah, me too. I know I’m a professional slacker, but I promise to help out more. It hurt hearing you say I was a bad husband. I never wanted to hurt you. Is that good enough loser?” He gave him a wink.

  
Simmons gave a little smile. “Yeah, I suppose it’ll have to do.” The two gave each other a big hug.

  
“Yay!” Maddie clapped her hands. She was happy for her uncles.

  
Grey came in with Mira. She saw her Dads hugging. “Wow Dr. Grey, your plan worked great, my Dads are happy again.”

  
Simmons was startled. “What plan? Emily why were you encouraging her?”

  
Carolina shot her a look. “Em, what’s wrong with you? She could have been killed.” Now she was on the verge of not talking to her wife.

  
“Woah Mira, I never said to run away like that. I told you to help encourage your Dads that they still loved each other. I specifically said to not put yourself in danger.”

  
Simmons looked heartbroken. “So this was all a trick…” He stopped short when he saw Carolina glaring at him.

  
Grif put his arms around him. “It’s no trick, I really want you back, I love you.”

  
“But we’re not married anymore.”

  
Grey got a big smile. “That’s no problem, we can always plan a nice remarriage. It’ll be so much fun.” Simmons doubted it. “This little lady has a hairline fracture, she will need a cast for a few weeks. She asked for both her Dads to present when I fit her for the cast.”

  
Grif followed behind the doctor. Simmons stayed back to talk to Mira. “Are you mad at me Daddy?” She looked worried.

  
Simmons put his arm around her. “No I’m not, I want to thank you. Your Dad and I would have taken forever to forgive each other. Thank you for showing us how stupid we were.”

  
Mira gave a little grin. “I’m your kid, that’s my job.”

  
As the two walked out together, Simmons wondered how he deserved to have such a great problem child. He loved her so much more than he realized.


	15. Chapter 15

“Grif, come on hurry up. We’re going to be late for the wedding.” Simmons was double checking his burgundy tie. It was tied perfect as usual.

  
Grif’s voice was muffled from behind the bathroom door. “Good, I’m gonna be late ‘cause I’m not going.”

  
Simmons frowned slightly. “You’re seriously not going to your own re-wedding?”

  
Grif finally came out of hiding. He was dressed in a formal, black tuxedo. His usually wild, black curly hair was neatly slicked back in a small ponytail. He was tugging away helplessly at his orange tie. “Don’t tempt me, I look horrible in a tux.”

  
Simmons had to catch his breath, he never saw his husband look this handsome before. He couldn’t stop staring, he had to force himself to look away when Grif turned to look at him. He blushed and pretended to be fixing his tie.

  
“What are you gawking at, do I look that horrible?”

  
Simmons’ face grew a deeper shade of red as he stammered. “Uh nnno… you actually look pretty good.”

  
Grif frowned as he tugged some more at his tie. “Yeah right, you’re a terrible liar. Why the hell do we have to get this dressed up? We didn’t have to the first time.”

  
“That’s exactly we have to, don’t you want to have a real wedding this time? Anyway, Dr. Grey said we have to. Since she’s the one marrying us, we have to go by her rules.”

  
Grif made a face as he gave up and threw the crumpled tie on the bed. “That sounds a little suspicious to me. I still don’t see how just signing the divorce papers automatically gave us a divorce. I think Kimball said something about going through the court system for that.”

  
Simmons hurried to change the subject. Of course he knew he and Grif were still legally married. But he wanted an actual wedding with the man he loved.

“Don’t blame me, you were the one who brought home the papers. Besides, the kids want to see the wedding.”

  
“No I don’t.” Dex stood in the doorway dressed in a suit and looking as terrible as Grif felt. He threw his red tie at Simmons. “I can’t work mine either.”

  
Simmons groaned. “Come here Dex, I’ll help you.” Simmons was an expert at this point. “There, go make sure the twins are getting ready. Tell them I’ll be right in to help them.”

  
“Okay Dad.” Dex didn’t look happy, but he was glad his Dads were back together.

  
Simmons turned to Grif and he tried to back away. He was worse than the kids. “Hold still and let me tie this or I’ll strangle you with it.” He wished Grif was more into this wedding.

  
Grif noticed the anxious frown lines between Simmons’ eyes deepen. That’s how he knew he was stressed out. “Hey, what’s with that look, are you okay?” Part of their reconciliation was that they both had to communicate more.

  
“Yeah, I guess so…no, not really.”

  
Grif put his hands on his shoulders. “Why, what did I do or not do?”

  
Simmons sighed, he may as well be honest. “I know this formal stuff isn’t your thing, but I wish you were more into getting remarried. I mean, you do still want to right?” He was so afraid to ask.

  
“Yes, of course I do. You know me, I’m not a social kinda guy. I’ll be fine once the ceremony starts. I already know I’m totally in love with the groom, the rest will be easy.”

He held Simmons close, he didn’t want to lose him ever again. He vowed to keep his whining to himself.

  
Dr. Grey was taking all morning to decorate her wedding altar. She brought in big pots of Peace lillies and pink miniature roses from her hydroponic garden she and Simmons still worked on together. She thought he would like to see how well their plants were growing.

  
She underestimated how much the lilly containers weighed, she couldn’t quite drag them. Carolina came in just in time to help her.

“Em, why are trying to lug those heavy containers? I thought Donut was supposed to help you decorate?”

  
She took a break and stood huffing and puffing a second before she could answer. “Oh, he got called out last minute on a mission. Besides, I have more muscles than he does. But these plants are really heavy buggers, I doubt he could lift them anyway.” She gave a mischievous wink before going at the pots again.

  
Carolina groaned and rolled her eyes. “Here, let me do that. You can arrange the roses, they’re lighter.”

  
Grey saluted her with a giggle. “Yes ma’am.”

  
Carolina shot her a glare. Grey was right though, the plants were heavy, and she kept changing her mind every two minutes about where she wanted them. With a huff, Carolina settled them down and went to walk away.

  
“They look fine where they are, if you want them moved, you’re on your own. Why are you being so picky about this? Those two morons don’t even realize they’re still married. We don’t need to go through this.”

  
“Yes we do. This is important to both of them and the kids, they should have had a real wedding to begin with. Besides, this is my first formal wedding that I get to be the preacher, this is a big moment for me.” She gave a big smile.

  
As crazy as Grey could be at times, talking to her always put Carolina in a better mood. They were as mismatched as they could possibly be, but they were happy together. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  
Grey finally turned away from her decorating. “Oh by the way, did you find the dress that I picked out for you?”

  
Carolina made a face. She saw the aqua colored dress on her bed, she wanted no part of it. “Yeah, that was what I wanted to yell at you about. There’s no way I’m dressing up for this.”

  
“You have to, everyone is. Even Grif is wearing a tux.”

  
“How’d you get him to do that?”

  
“I had Simmons work on him. Pleassse, will you wear the dress for me. You’ll look amazing in it.” Her big violet eyes pleaded with her as she batted her eyelashes.

  
Carolina had to laugh even though she didn’t want to dress up. “Yeah, I guess. I’ll get the girls ready so you can finish up here.”

  
Grey gave her a kiss as she finished up.

  
By the time Simmons got his family down to the church, he was sure they would be late. Mira’s arm was hurting her and even though she got an orange cast, she liked whining about it.

  
He and Grif met up with Wash, Tucker took over watching the kids for them. Simmons looked out at the crowd of people in the pews.

  
“Holy shit, who are all these people? I thought it was just close friends.” He suddenly looked pale.

  
Wash shrugged. “You have to ask Dr. Grey, she was in charge of all the plans.”

  
Simmons didn’t look any better. “I can’t go out there Wash. This was why we chose to elope in the first place.”

  
Wash put his hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry about all of them.” He turned Simmons’ attention to Grif. “Think about him, think about your kids, they’re all that really counts. Think about how much you love Grif. You got this.”

  
Grey came rushing forward. Her short, dark hair was slicked back and she wore a dapper suit. She really looked like a minister. “Places, places, places. We’re ready to start.”

  
Wash pushed him forward as the music started and ceremony began.  
Grif was better at tuning all the guests out, he could only see Simmons. He saw the scared, panic look on his face and reached out to hold his hand. Simmons looked into Grif’s warm brown eyes and he calmed down.

  
By the time it was almost over and time for them to kiss, he forgot anyone was around. They shared a long, passionate kiss, it was one of the few times they showed affection like that in public, and Simmons liked it.

  
Surrounded by his husband and kids, Simmons knew that he was where he was supposed to be. He loved his family with all his heart, he’d never do anything stupid to ruin that.

  
Well…at least until the next time Grif ticked him off.

  



End file.
